Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ When He Was... ❯ When He Was... (extended version) ( Chapter 2 )

When He Was…(Extended Version)

 

 

When he was five, he gave her a “Hi” and she gave him his first smile.

 

He was sort of happy to see her cry. Not that he took pleasure in other people's pain, but that he wasn't the only one who was teased. The older boys left soon after, scared that her sobs would attract the attention of grown-ups. Cautiously, he crept out of the bushes lining the path and crossed to her. She didn't look at him, but rather continued to cry into her hands.

 

“Um, hi.” He finally said to her. She didn't look at him, but she did stop crying.

 

“My name's,” he paused here, trying to remember, and his face brightened, “it's Naruto.” Sometimes he couldn't remember his name since hardly anyone called him that.

 

“Sakura.” The girl whispered.

 

“Hmmm?”

 

“My name's Sakura.”

 

“Oh. Okay.” Naruto wondered what he was supposed to say now. “Why were they teasing you?”

 

Green eyes peeked out at him from between her fingers. “They said I look funny.”

 

“Why? Do you have fish-lips?”

Her eyes narrowed and her hands fell away from her face. “I don't have fish-lips.” She pointed to her forehead. “They said my forehead was too big.”

 

Naruto stared at her forehead and turned to look at the carved out monument in the distance. “No, it looks normal to me.”

 

She frowned a bit. Naruto wondered if he said something wrong. He normally didn't get the chance to talk to someone his own age without the grown-ups interrupting and telling him to leave their child alone. “I'm going to be the Hokage.” He told her seriously, after a long pause.

 

“Really? When?”

 

“Well, not right now. I'm not strong enough.” He hastily added. “Yet. But one day I will be and when I become the Hokage, no one will be teased anymore.”

 

She stared at him before nodding. “Okay.”

 

“What?”

 

Slowly she smiled at him. “I'm going to become a ninja too. And if you don't become the Hokage, I will.”

 

Shocked, his mouth hanging open, she laughed then. And even though he wasn't sure why, he began to laugh as well.

 

“Get away from my daughter!” A woman hurried toward them, sacks of groceries hung from her arms. Pausing, the woman reached into one of her bags and pulled out an orange, which she threw at him. It smacked him in the head, and he swayed a little from the blow. Time to leave. Picking up the orange, he turned to look at Sakura. “See you later.”

 

Sakura looked puzzled by what her mother had done, but nonetheless she smiled at him and said goodbye as well.

 

Trotting away—the woman had too many packages to catch up with him—Naruto pocketed the fruit and started for the orphanage. He had made a friend and he had gotten a treat—today was the best day of his life.

 

 

When he was ten, he gave her a flower and she gave it back to him crushed from her fist.

 

Naruto grinned at her, his hand holding out the flower toward her. She took it from him; hands cupped around the bloom, and brought it to her face as if to inhale its fragrance when her eyes caught sight of someone behind him. Turning, he saw her blonde friend, Yamanaka Ino, shaking her head. Quickly, he turned around to see Sakura with her hand closed into a fist. She quickly grabbed his hand and pressed the crushed flower into his.

 

“I don't want flowers from the likes of you.” she said loudly as she walked past him.

 

He bit his lip before turning around to grin at her back. “You should have kept it so you can tell your grandkids that the great Naruto Hokage-sama gave you flowers when you were young!” He saw her pause for a moment, and silently hoped she would turn around again if only to yell at him, but instead she quickened her steps to meet a waiting Ino.

 

 

When he was twelve, he gave her endearments and hugs and she gave him bruises and lumps.

 

“Sasuke-teme! Get away from my Sakura-chan!” Grabbing Sakura away from her too close position near their mutual teammate, he held her body against his and stuck his tongue out at the black-haired boy.

 

Naruto let his breath out in huge whoosh as the girl he held elbowed him in the solar plexus.

 

“How many times have I told you stop calling me Sakura-chan? And since when have I ever been yours!” For good measures she gave him a knuckle-fist to the top of his head.

 

“Really strong.” Naruto managed to gasp as he bent over trying to gain back his breath.

 

“Dobe.” Sasuke muttered as he stood off to the side by himself.

 

 

When he was fifteen, he gave her his word and she gave him a nod.

 

Naruto stood in front of her, on the bridge; always they had met on the bridge. “I failed last time.” He told her, his face, his voice, everything about him solemn. “But I promise that this time I will bring Sasuke back.” The last part of his promise, `for you' was left unsaid, but he knew she had heard it as she looked at him with eyes made bright by her unshed tears. Still, her smile was true and free of sadness. She swallowed, nodded her head and they stood there in silence. Hesitantly, oh so slowly, he bent towards her, and with chaste lips, he kissed her smiling mouth before leaning back to look at her. He waited for her to yell at him, waited for the blow to come, but she did neither. Instead, she turned around and walked away from him.

 

Naruto stood there on the bridge, a bemused smile on his lips. It had been his first kiss (the kiss with Sasuke didn't count). He wondered if it had been hers.

 

 

When he was sixteen, he gave her another flower and she gave him the image of that flower tucked behind her ear.

 

Naruto wasn't surprised to find her there, standing at the foot of the freshly buried grave. He saw that she had already cleaned the headstone, though surely there hadn't been much dust on it since he had only been buried for a week or so. A small bouquet of flowers lay on the dirt mound. He wondered if he should turn around; leave her there to mourn in private. And as he thought this, his traitorous legs stepped forward until he was at her side. He never could just leave her alone.

 

“You kept your promise.” Sakura said beside him, her voice low. “You brought him back.”

He hadn't broken his word this time. He had brought the missing ninja back home, his body at least, what had been left of it. Sasuke had finally gotten his wish—he had taken revenge for his clan and had died in the process. `Stupid bastard.' He thought almost fondly. Naruto crouched down, sitting on his haunches. Quickly, he pulled a random flower from his bunch, before laying the rest down besides hers. When he stood up, he gave the flower in his hand to the quiet girl beside him. For a brief moment, the feeling of deja vu swept through him before he realized that he had given her a flower before, once during a morning break at school. He wondered if she remembered him doing so and if she also remembered what she did to it. He watched as she brought the flower up to her nose and inhaled briefly. He was about to smile until she saw her snap the stem in half. `Oh, she does remember.' With morbid fascination, he watched as she striped the flower of any stray leaves and loose petals and was surprised when she tucked the bloom behind her right ear.

 

“Oh.” He said out loud. “Oh.”

 

This time when they kissed, it was Sakura who leaned in towards him.

 

 

When he was seventeen, he gave her his heart and she gave hers in return.

 

And she was doing marvelous things to his tongue with her tongue, but if he wanted to tell her, he would have to stop kissing her for a moment.

 

He wondered if he should wait until later.

 

`No, do it now.' He thought and pulled away from her sweet, now swollen lips. He eyed them for a second and almost began kissing her again when he shook his head impatiently. `Don't I have any will power? Am I not the ninja who will become the next Hokage?'

 

“What is it?” she asked breathlessly, clenching her hands that were currently fisted in his hair.

 

“I love you.” He told her gravely, with all the seriousness that his seventeen-year-old-self contained.

 

She smiled at him, almost a smirk really and pulled him back so his lips returned to hers. In between quick kisses, she murmured, “I know.”

 

They continued kissing each other for a few more minutes before he broke off from her again. “And you?” he panted, looking down into her green eyes darkened with passion.

 

Now she looked amused. “Of course I love you. You don't think I would be here with you doing this if I didn't.” Her expression turned dark. “Or did you? What kind of girl do you think I am!”

“Of course I knew you loved me!” he yelped as she pulled at his hair. “I just wanted to hear you say it.” She glared at him but her hold on his hair lightened and his scalp wasn't complaining anymore.

 

“I love you.” She told him with all the seriousness her seventeen-year-old-self contained. Then she grinned at him. “Like I said, I wouldn't be here with you like this if I didn't. You're a great kisser, but you're not that great.” She nipped at his lower lip and sooth the little bite with her tongue. Oh, he loved that clever tongue of hers. It took him a few minutes to for her words to sink in.

 

“Hey what do you mean I'm not that great? Who have you been kissing to compare me with?”

 

 

And when he was nineteen, he gave her a ring and a promise and she gave him her tears and a “yes.”

 

“Please stop crying.” He pleaded desperately with her. “I promised myself that I would never make you cry. If you don't like it, we can get a new one, one that you'll love.”

 

“No, no, no…” she mumbled, shaking her head back and forth.

 

Naruto's stomach contracted before it fell somewhere to his knees. “Okay then. Sorry about this.” He wondered what you were supposed to do after you proposed to the woman you loved and she shot you down. He tried to take the ring back from her, but this time she pushed his hands away.

 

“No, I love it.” She told him and slipped it on her left ring finger. She smiled at him, tears still streaming down her face. Her nose was starting to run, but she looked so happy. “Yes, Naruto.” She threw herself into his arms. “Let's get married.”

 

 

At twenty-two, when he had thought they had both given each other everything, instead, they gave each other a child.

 

“You are never touching me again do you hear me!” Sakura shouted as she clutched Naruto's hand within hers. He could feel his bones grind against each other in her grip. Damn, her strength training with the old hag was really paying off for her. She panted as the contraction passed.

 

Naruto wanted to mention the fact that she had enjoyed herself during the conception so it wasn't really only his fault, but he held his tongue, partly because he understood she was in pain and partly because he knew he would be in pain if he said it out loud. Instead he made reassuring noises at her. She retaliated by throwing her cup of ice chips at him.

 

Tsunade laughed at the two of them from her position between Sakura's open legs. She had insisted on being the one to help with the birth of their child. “Who else but me considering that she is my precious pupil and you will be my replacement?” Naruto was pretty sure the old hag had tossed back a few though she didn't seem drunk when she informed him of her decision. Still, with Tsunade, you really couldn't be sure.

 

“The head is starting to crown, Sakura. We're almost there.”

 

“Never again.” Sakura muttered between clenched teeth.

 

“But Sakura-chan…” Naruto began to whine before cutting himself off as once more she squeezed his hand within hers. As a harsh groan was emitted from Sakura, Tsunade praised her as she helped the child from the birthing canal.

 

“Good, good. One more time, push.” Tsunade commanded, and so her student did as she was told. The sound of crying filled the air, and Tsunade hurriedly performed the necessary seals to check if the child had been born with any problems. Finding none, she quickly nodded to her staff who then cut the umbilical cord connecting the mother to her child. Tsunade gently cleansed the newborn with a damp towel of blood, checking his mouth to see if anything was in there, and wiped his nose and eyes carefully.

 

The child was still crying and Sakura lay limp on the bed, panting in exhaustion. Naruto was of two minds—see his child or stay with his wife. Tsunade solved his dilemma by bringing the now blanket-wrapped newborn to the two of them.

 

“It's a boy.” she told them simply, handing the baby to Sakura who accepted her child with tear-filled eyes.

 

“Beautiful.” Sakura murmured to herself, staring at the small and wrinkled face in her arms.

 

“Beautiful.” Naruto agreed looking down at the two of them.

 

 

There's a universal rule that many know, but few seldom heed, that states: What you give you get in return. Luckily for Naruto, he always gave her everything.

 

 

 

Author's Notes:

 

Actually I had one more part I wanted to write but after Naruto's last line, I realized that that was a perfect place to end this story. Perhaps I'll write that little scene as an epilogue to this later on.